Winter Road Maintenance

Priority streets are cleared first for emergency vehicles then secondary streets are cleared. We concentrate our efforts on the downtown areas during the evenings or early mornings and residential streets are done between 7:30 am - 4:00 pm as most vehicles are off the streets during this time. In addition, we try to clear streets that have garbage pickup scheduled for that morning.

Prior to any snow removal on a roadway, we try to place portable “no parking” signs in the neighbourhood informing the residents that snow removal will happen within the next 24 hours. This advance notice provides property owners enough time to have their vehicle removed from the street before the snow clearing starts. There are times when we will clear an adjacent street without notice if we see most of the vehicles are gone.

The Town of Vermilion is responsible for clearing the snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to Town owned properties. In order to keep sidewalks safe for pedestrians, sand or a sand/salt mixture is applied to the sidewalks. We encourage everyone to be careful walking in the winter season, especially if the concrete or pavement cannot be clearly seen.

All property owners and tenants are responsible to remove snow and ice from any sidewalk adjoining their property within 48 hours of snow or ice forming on the sidewalk. Snow and debris cannot not be deposited onto the roadways from private property.

At the end of the winter season when the snow begins to melt and shift, lanes (alleys) are ploughed from one end to the other and the snow is hauled away. This process will leave a ridge of snow along the sides of the lanes. Residents can minimize the amount of snow ridge left at the entrance of their access way by clearing their entrance throughout the winter and piling the snow to the left or right of their property. If your entrance is not maintained during the winter season, it may be difficult to for you to use your lane access until the snow melts. Property owners are responsible for clearing their driveways and lane entrances and need to be mindful of neighbouring properties to minimize possible flooding situations in early spring.

Sand is used regularly during the winter season to provide traction on icy roads and sidewalks. The streets and sidewalks are sanded as required and salt is kept to a minimum.

For safety and convenience, the Town of Vermilion provides free sand/salt mixture for property owners to use on their sidewalks and walkways. The sandbox is located on the north side of the Fire Hall at 5010 Railway Avenue and is available from November to March. Residents must bring their own container.

All rubber curb ramps or other driveway aids should be removed from the street by the first snowfall. When these rubber mats and other driveway aids are left behind they risk getting caught up in our snow blower causing serious damage to our equipment. The cost of these repairs may be charged to the property owner. To prevent your ramps from being damaged, please remove them during the winter season.

During a severe snowfall the Infrastructure and Planning Services Department is pressed into action to get the streets cleared as soon as possible. The focus will be to restore priority streets for emergency vehicles first and secondary streets after.

In the winter season we try to clear the streets ahead of the garbage truck route. During a severe winter storm we may have to redirect our efforts to a priority street and not clear your street. If your waste bin was not picked up because of a storm, please remove it from the curb and wait until your next collection day. If you think the grader will be passing shortly, wait until after it has passed to place your garbage on the street.